Boy's brain injury described

PORTSMOUTH — A year after he was hit by a car while riding his scooter on Broad Street, Henri Lalime continues to suffer from symptoms of brain injury, said his attorney, Jay Nadeau.

Elizabeth Dinan

PORTSMOUTH — A year after he was hit by a car while riding his scooter on Broad Street, Henri Lalime continues to suffer from symptoms of brain injury, said his attorney, Jay Nadeau.

"Henri's brain injury has severely affected his ability to filter and process information, his ability to take self-protective measures, his ability to exercise judgment and his short-term memory ability," said Nadeau. "The accident left Henri with major difficulties which are likely to persist for several years, if not permanently."

Henri's younger brother, Stephen, also continues to suffer as a result of witnessing his brother, who was 6 at the time of the accident, being hit by a car, said Nadeau, who described the event as a "traumatic experience which quite expectedly has short-circuited his ability to deal with various emotions."

Nadeau is representing the Lalime boys and their parents in a civil suit against the driver of the car, Dylan Carter, 19, of 63 Taft Road. The case is scheduled to go to trial in Rockingham County Superior Court beginning Sept. 21, 2009.

The suit alleges Carter was under the influence of drugs and driving recklessly when he crashed into Lalime, fracturing the boy's skull and pelvis, putting him in a coma and leaving him with permanent disabilities.

Through Manchester attorney Thomas Kelliher, Carter claimed Lalime "is comparatively negligent" for the accident and that liability belongs with a third and unspecified party.

Carter was arrested in November 2007 on a related charge of failing to obey a traffic control device and misdemeanor counts of possession of drugs in a motor vehicle and drug possession. He has since pleaded guilty to marijuana possession.

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